PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Department of Arts and Sciences
213.13 – PHIL: Critical Thinking
Semester: Winter 2015 Credit hours: 3
Class hours: Mondays & Thursdays 3:20- 4:35 p.m.
Classroom: To be announced
Instructor: Hendrik van der Breggen, Ph.D. Office: 2A16
Office hours: Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays 1:00-3:00 p.m. (by appointment)
Phone: (204) 433 7488 x242
Email: hendrik.vanderbreggen@prov.ca
____________________SYLLABUS___________________
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is a course in practical logic, designed to help students think clearly and critically by learning to
identify, evaluate, and present arguments. The course includes the study of basic types of reasoning, the
structure of argument, criteria of argument assessment, formal and informal fallacies, plus problems of
clarity and meaning.
B. COURSE OBJECTIVES/ LEARNING OUTCOMES
In the process of completing this course, the student will
o
o
o
identify and explain basic concepts and principles of critical thinking
analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments
indicate awareness of relevant philosophical topics (truth, scepticism, virtues of a critical thinker)
C. COURSE TEXTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES
1. Required Textbook
Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, 7th edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Cengage
Learning, 2010.
2. Supplementary Readings
Some notes and articles will be distributed in class or electronically, or will be made available in the
college library.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Special note to students: It is your responsibility to retain course syllabi for possible future use to support applications for
transfer of credit to other educational institutions.
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D. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Listening to lectures and participation in class discussions. (See Course Policies below regarding
attendance, punctuality, and appropriate in-class behaviour.)
2. Reading of assigned portions of the textbooks plus assigned supplementary readings.
3. Exams (2). There will be a midterm exam and a final exam. The purpose of each exam is twofold: to
encourage the student to keep up with his/her understanding of the course readings and lectures, and
to monitor that understanding. Each exam will cover primarily the course material covered prior to
the exam (from the beginning of the course for the midterm, from the midterm for the final exam).
4. Assignments (8). Eight short assignments will be completed over the duration of the course. The
purpose of each short assignment is threefold: to encourage the student to keep up with his/her
understanding of the readings and lectures, to monitor that understanding, and to provide an
opportunity for the student to apply what has been learned and thereby develop his/her critical
thinking skills. Some short assignments will be longer and/or more difficult than others, but they will
each count the same mark-wise. Assignments will be electronically distributed early in the week and
will be due in hard copy in class sometime during the next week; official due dates will be announced
as the course progresses. Late assignments will not be accepted (unless there are documented
extraordinary circumstances, such as serious illness, death, etc.; see late assignment policy below).
E. GRADING SUMMARY
1. Grade Components
Exams (30% each)
Assignments (5% each)
Total
60%
40%
100%
2. Grading Scale
Final course letter grades and their Grade Point equivalents will be calculated using the following scale:
Quality
Letter GP
%
Exceptional
Excellent
A+
A
A-
4.0
4.0
3.7
91-100
85-90
80-84
B+
B
B-
3.3
3.0
2.7
77-79
73-76
70-72
Superior
Good
2
Satisfactory/Average
Adequate
C+
C
C-
2.3
2.0
1.7
67-69
63-66
60-62
Marginal
Poor
D+
D
D-
1.3
1.0
0.7
57-59
53-56
50-52
Failure
F
0.0
<50
F. COURSE POLICIES
Full text to the academic policies, procedures and regulations of Providence College can be found online
in the Student Handbook (http://www.providencecollege.ca/college/student_life/) and the College
Academic Calendar (http://www.providencecollege.ca/college/programs/registrars_office/calendar/
1. Class Attendance Policy
Attendance is required as well as highly recommended.
Three unexcused absences are allowed: i.e., three 1.25-hour class meetings may be missed without
penalty or documentation of excuse (absences due to college sports outings will count as allowed
unexcused absences). Thereafter a 3 percent deduction from the final course grade is levied per missed
class (unless the absence is excused for a good reason such as serious illness, extreme emergency, or
death, verified by a reasonable authority such as a medical doctor; in these cases the student must fill out
an Absence Form as well as submit appropriate documentation). (The Absence Form can be found at the
end of the online version of this syllabus.)
Arriving to class late is a seriously frowned upon behaviour. If a student is late for class, he/she is
advised to enter the class quietly from the rear of the room and be seated quietly at the rear of the room.
At the end of the class the late student should advise the professor of the late student’s attendance to avoid
being recorded as absent (the late student should do this after the professor has finished talking with all
other students about matters relating to course content).
Inappropriate behaviour while attending class (e.g., talking without instructor’s approval) is unacceptable.
Such behaviour may result in a 5 or more percent deduction from the final grade, depending upon the
severity of the inappropriate behaviour (as judged by the instructor). By maintaining his/her registration
in the class, the student agrees to abide by the following ground rules for discussion:
-
-
Rule 1 – Show your hand when you wish to speak.
Rule 2 – Speak only when asked to speak.
Rule 3 – When you begin to speak state your name clearly.
Rule 4 – One person speaks at a time.
Rule 5 – Be quiet when another person is speaking.
Rule 6 – Feel free to voice disagreement, but do so with gentleness and respect.
Rule 7 – Try to make each other feel comfortable enough to make mistakes: i.e., don’t scoff or laugh
in a put-down sort of way. (Note: Good thinking requires practice, and practice usually involves the
making of mistakes—and the making of mistakes in a class discussion often leads to greater
understanding for everyone.)
Rule 8 – Stop the talking/discussion when your instructor says stop. (Your instructor has material
that has to get covered during the course. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a discussion or
lecture, then feel free to make an appointment with your professor to continue the discussion.)
2. Information and Communication Technologies in Class
Student use of information and communication technology (ICT) such as laptop computers, cell-phones,
iPods, etc. is not allowed in the classroom. Anyone using an ICT will be asked to either cease doing so or
leave the classroom. (If student has a special learning need, please consult with instructor.) In the
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classroom ICTs tend to distract students, both the user and classmates, thereby thwarting the educational
enterprise. Sustained attention to class lecture and discussion is important—and is required in this course.
3. Late Assignment Policy
Late assignments will not be accepted (except in cases of serious illness, extreme emergency, or death,
verified by a reasonable authority such as a medical doctor; in these cases the student must fill out a Late
Assignment Submission Form as well as submit appropriate documentation). (The Late Assignment
Form can be found at the end of the online version of this syllabus.)
4. Final Exam Policy
All requests to have a final exam rescheduled must be approved by the Academic Committee in
accordance with the Examination General Regulations (available in the College Academic Calendar
http://www.providencecollege.ca/college/programs/registrars_office/calendar/). Students are encouraged
to read the exam schedule early in the semester to determine whether there is a conflict and, if there is a
conflict, advise the Registrar's Office immediately. Note: Travel and other reservations should not be
made for any time prior to the student’s last scheduled examination. Examinations will not be
rescheduled to accommodate travel plans.
5. Missed Exams
Students who miss exams other than a final exam are responsible to contact the professor within one week
of the exam date if they still wish to write the exam. Permission to do so will be given to only those
students who present evidence or reasonable grounds acceptable to the professor for having missed the
exam: e.g., serious illness, extreme emergency, or death, verified by a reasonable authority such as a
medical doctor (in these cases the student must fill out a Late Assignment Submission Form [see below in
the online version of the syllabus, but this form will be adjusted for a missed exam] as well as submit
appropriate documentation). Note: Travel plans are not an acceptable reason to miss exams. Exam
accommodations are not provided to facilitate travel and all applications citing travel as the extenuating
circumstance will be denied. The format of the exam will be at the discretion of the professor, with essay
questions likely. Students who do not write an exam by at most two weeks after the exam date will
receive a grade of zero for that component of the course. (Exceptions to final exams must be processed
by application to the Registrar's Office, not the professor.)
6. Plagiarism
Students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity in all its various forms, and students will be held
accountable for doing so by the policy on Academic Conduct in the Student Handbook:
http://www.providencecollege.ca/college/student_life/. One particularly problematic breach of academic
integrity is plagiarism, which is stealing from the ideas and writings of another person and passing them
off as one’s own. For an elaboration of the nature, types, and prevention of plagiarism, see the documents
“How to Cite Sources and Avoid Plagiarism” and “Students’ Guide to Preventing and Avoiding
Plagiarism” which are both available on the Providence College website:
http://www.providencecollege.ca/college/library/information/use_a_style_guide_or_create_a_bibliography/.
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G. COURSE OUTLINE
1. Daily Class Format
Each class will be generally structured as follows:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Welcome, overview, attendance
Misc. announcements/ clarifications/ corrections
Prayer
Lecture and discussion
2. Course Schedule/ Outline
Note 1: The outline below is somewhat tentative (we may at times lag behind or leap ahead of the
schedule). Dates concerning assignments, midterm, and final exam are quite firm.
Note 2: Readings from the main textbook are listed below and, unless otherwise notified, students will be
expected to read all of the assigned readings.
Note 3: At various junctures during the course, the student will be assigned various supplementary
readings (SR). Students will be expected to read all assigned SR. Some SR will be handed out in class,
some SR will be on reserve at the library, and/or some SR will be distributed electronically via the student
portal.
Note 4: Focus your reading and studying on those topics discussed in class.
Note 5: Every hour of class time translates roughly into an additional two hours of study time, or so your
instructor will expect.
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March 9 – last day for voluntary withdrawal
from course
January 5, 8
Topics: Introductions to course, each other, and
philosophy; preliminary conceptual “tool
sharpening” (principle of non-contradiction,
truth)
Readings: SR
March 9, 12
Topics: Deductive arguments—propositional
logic continued
Readings: Govier chapter 8
January 12, 15
What is an argument; Pinning down argument
structure
Readings: SR, Govier chapters 1 & 2
(January 14 – 12:40- 2:15 Academic workshop)
March 16, 19
Topics: Deductive arguments—propositional
logic continued; Introduction to inductive
arguments
Readings: Govier chapters 8 & 9
January 19, 22
Topics: Looking at language
Readings: Govier chapter 3
March 23, 26
Topics: Causal inductive arguments
Analogies—reasoning from case to case
Readings: Govier chapters 10 & 11
January 26, 29
Topics: Looking at language continued; Good
arguments—an intro
Readings: Govier chapters 3, 4
March 30, April 2
Topics: Analogies, continued; Conductive
arguments and counter-considerations
Readings: Govier chapters 11 & 12
February 2, 5
Topics:Premises—what to accept and why
Readings: Govier chapter 5
Missio Dei – February 5 – no class
April 6, 9
Topics: Conductive arguments and counterconsiderations, continued; virtues of critical
thinker
Readings: Govier chapter 12; SR
February 9, 12
Topics: Premises, continued; Working on
relevance
Readings: Govier chapters 5 & 6
April 13-17 Exam week
Final exam – April 17 – 8:30-10:30 a.m.
February 16, 19
Louis Riel Day – February 16 – no class
Topics: Working on relevance, continued;
Deductive arguments—propositional logic
Readings: Govier, chapters 6 & 8
H. BIBLIOGRAPHY
February 23, 26
The course bibliography can be seen on the
online version of this syllabus (link posted at the
bottom of instructor’s profile page at Providence
University College website).
Topics: Deductive arguments—propositional
logic, continued
Readings: Govier chapter 8
Midterm exam – February 26
March 2, 5
Reading days – no classes
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H. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. INTRODUCTIONS TO PHILOSOPHY
Internet
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/index.html
Books
Cowan, Steven B. & James S. Spiegel. The Love of Wisdom. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009.
DeWeese, Garret J. Doing Philosophy as a Christian. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2011.
Horner, David A. Mind Your Faith: A Student's Guide to Thinking and Living Well. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP
Academic, 2011.
Law, Stephen. Philosophy. Eyewitness Companions series. London & New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2007.
Morris, Tom. Philosophy for Dummies. Foster City, California: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1999.
Pojman, Louis P. Philosophy: The Pursuit of Wisdom, 5th edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 2006.
2. LOGIC & CRITICAL THINKING (a.k.a. practical/applied logic)
Internet
Fallacies (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy): http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Straw%20Man
Books
Baillargeon, Normand. A Short Course in Intellectual Self-Defense. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2007.
Craig, William Lane. Learning Logic. Illustrated by Marli Renee. Charleston, South Carolina: n.p., 2014.
Damer, T. Edward. Attacking Faulty Reasoning, 7th edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2013.
Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, 7th edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2010.
Groarke, Leo A. & C. W. Tindale. Good Reasoning Matters! 4th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Hacking, Ian. An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Huff, Darrell. How to Lie with Statistics. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1954. Reprint, 1993.
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Johnson, R. H. & J. A. Blair. Logical Self-Defense, 3rd edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1993.
Law, Stephen. Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole. Amherst, New York:
Prometheus, 2011.
Moore, Brooke Noel & Richard Parker. Critical Thinking, 8th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Moreland, J. P. Love Your God With All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul. Colorado Springs,
Colorado: NavPress, 1997, 2012. (Chapter 5)
Salmon, Wesley C. Logic, 3rd edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1984.
Schick, Theodore, Jr. & Lewis Vaughn. How To Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, 6th
edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.
Vaughn, Lewis & Chris MacDonald. The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd Canadian edition. Oxford & New York:
Oxford University Press, 2013.
Warburton, Nigel. Thinking from A to Z, 3rd edition. London & New York: Routledge, 2007.
Washburn, Phil. The Vocabulary of Critical Thinking. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
3. PHILOSOPHICAL/ THEORETICAL STUDIES IN INFORMAL LOGIC
Internet
Informal logic (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy): http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/logic-informal/
Books
Blair, J. A. & R.H. Johnson. “Misconceptions of Informal Logic.” Teaching Philosophy 14:1 (March 1991): 35-52.
Gomberg, Paul. What Should I Believe? Philosophical Essays for Critical Thinking.
Broadview Press, 2011.
Peterborough, Ontario:
Govier, Trudy. Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation. Dordrecht, Holland: Foris Publications, 1987.
Govier, Trudy. The Philosophy of Argument. Newport News, Virginia: Vale Press, 1999.
Govier, Trudy, editor. Selected Issues in Logic and Communication. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1988.
Hansen, Hans V. & Robert C. Pinto, editors. Fallacies: Classical and Contemporary Readings. University Park,
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.
Johnson, Ralph H. Manifest Rationality: A Pragmatic Theory of Argument. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.
Johnson, Ralph H. & J. Anthony Blair. The Rise of Informal Logic. Newport News, Virginia: Vale Press, 1996.
Lipton, Peter. Inference to the Best Explanation, 2nd edition. London & New York: Routledge, 2004.
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Toulmin, Stephen. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958.
4. ON TRUTH (with a lower case “t”)
(Readings marked with * are highly recommended; check annotations—especially at S. Jaki’s Means to Message.)
* Beilby, James & David K. Clark. Why Bother with Truth? Arriving at Knowledge in a Skeptical Society.
Norcross, Georgia: RZIM, 2000. (Booklet; see especially chapters 1-6.)
Blackburn, Simon. Truth. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Boghossian, Paul. Fear of Knowledge: Against Relativism and Constructivism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006.
(High calibre philosophical defence of knowledge of the actual world.)
* Creel, Richard E. Thinking Philosophically. Malden & Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2001. (See chapter 10,
“What is Truth?”)
Frankfurt, Harry G. On Truth. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. (This is a very insightful little treatise on truth
written by the author of another insightful little treatise provocatively titled On Bullshit.)
* Groothuis, Douglas. Truth Decay. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000. (Chapter 4, “The Truth
about Truth,” is very helpful.)
* Jaki, Stanley L. Means to Message: A Treatise on Truth. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1999. (Jaki’s
thesis is simple but deeply profound: Any philosophy that is written in a book must account for [1] the
fact—the reality—of the book in which the philosophy is written and [2] the fact—the reality—that the
message of the book can be understood by the book’s readers.)
Kelly, Stewart E. Truth Considered and Applied: Examining Postmodernism, History, and Christian Faith.
Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011.
Luntley, Michael. Reason, Truth, and Self: The Postmodern Reconditioned. London & New York: Routledge,
1995. (Luntley’s concept of “simple truth” is especially helpful, giving all of us an objective handle on a
common reality; see chapter 5.)
Moreland, J. P. “Truth, Contemporary Philosophy, and the Postmodern Turn.” In Whatever Happened To Truth,
edited by Andreas Köstenberger, pp. 75-92. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005.
* Moreland, J. P. "Four Degrees of Postmodernism." In Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian
Apologetics, edited by Paul Copan & William Lane Craig, pp. 17-34. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2012.
Nagel, Thomas. The Last Word. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1912, 1967. (See
chapter 12, “Truth and Falsehood.”)
Van der Breggen, Hendrik. “Reasonable Skepticism about Radical Skepticism.” Christian Research Journal,
Volume 31, Number 5 (2008): 30-38. (Four radical skepticisms about our knowledge of truth about the
external world are shown to fail. Because the burden of proof rests on the shoulders of those who deny the
obvious, when the skeptics’ arguments fail, the obvious—i.e., that we can know the external world at least
to some extent—remains. This article is available online here: http://www.equip.org/articles/reasonableskepticism-about-radical-skepticism/.)
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Van der Breggen, Hendrik. "What is truth?" Apologia, The Carillon, November 16, 2008.
http://apologiabyhendrikvanderbreggen.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-is-truth.html.
Van der Breggen, Hendrik. "Pragmatic theory of truth...is false." Apologia, The Carillon, June 9, 2011.
http://apologiabyhendrikvanderbreggen.blogspot.com/2011/06/pragmatic-theory-of-truth-is-false.html
Willard, Dallas, ed. A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Life's Hardest Questions. Downers Grove,
Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2010.
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Late Assignment Submission Form
Providence College
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Absence Form
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